This invention relates to a method of preparing and conveying a personalized message and to a toy which is useful in performing the method.
The personalized message may be designed to comfort, communicate, educate, entertain, or convey special event (such as holiday and birthday) greetings. Among the benefits is rendering family members closer to one another, especially in the common situation where they are separated by many miles. Typical sender (donor)-recipient (donee) combinations include grandparent-granchild or girlfriend-boyfriend, but the possibilities are endless.
Typically, a grandchild might be in a hospital miles from his or her grandparents. A grandparent, having the desire to send a personalized message of comfort, can utilize the invention, in both its method and article aspects to fulfill his or her desire, in a way which is simple, relatively economical and which is likely to be effective.
Important objects hereof are to provide a method of preparing and conveying a personalized message having the foregoing advantages and to provide a toy which is usefull in performing the method.
The reader may be interested in the following U.S. patents as general background:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Date Inventor ______________________________________ 3,389,915 June 25, 1968 Owen et al. 3,538,638 November 10, 1970 Glass et al. 3,580,585 May 25, 1971 Stastny et al. 3,636,655 January 25, 1972 Porter et al. 3,685,200 August 22, 1972 Noll 4,282,676 August 11, 1981 Davis 4,521,201 June 4, 1985 Spector ______________________________________
Noll '200 is perhaps the most pertinent of these patents.
Noll discloses a doll that is voiced and animated. Portions of the doll's body are automated to have meaningful positions coordinated with the voice output. It is said that the replay means can be selectively activated with unlimited numbers of cassettes containing amusing as well as educational information, as may be desired. The doll includes a means for receiving a replaceable cassette.
None of these patents appears to teach the utilization of personalized messages aimed specifically at a recipient known to the sender.